When you talk about Japanese pop culture, the
Yakuza and their infamous finger-lopping, ‘r’-rolling ways are one of the
country’s most identified groups.
And
while I in no way support underworld activity, I think it’s important to recognise
how much the Yakuza have added to Japanese culture in the modern day, overall.
Whether
you’ve come to appreciate Japanese-styled tattoos or you’re a connoisseur of
1960s-70s Yakuza films, it’s hard not to be charmed by an admittedly
romanticised view of one of the world most infamous underworld collectives.
Which
is why reports that the Japanese police want to remove four stone lanterns
inscribed with the names of top Yakuza leaders from a World Heritage listed
shrine have shocked and saddened me a little.
The
names of two leaders from the Yamaguchi-gumi – the largest Yakuza syndicate in
Japan – have already been hidden from public view but police want to remove the
lanterns entirely to sever social ties with organized crime.
“We
cannot overlook gangster-related lanterns standing at a World Heritage shrine,”
a prefectural police officer said, as reported by the Asahi Shimbun.
The
lanterns were a donated addition to the shrine after it was listed as a World
Heritage site in 2004, but a parishioner insists the shrine was not aware the
donations came from within the Yamaguchi-gumi.
“It is
rude to drop the donor’s name without permission whoever the person is,” a
shrine representative said.
The
request to have the lanterns and their underworld connections removed from the
public’s view comes just days after police revealed that gang membership for
both the Yakuza and Japan’s Bikie Gangs is at new lows.
The
Mainichi Shimbun reports that Bikie Gang membership is now one fiftieth of what
it was at its peak in 1980, while Yakuza numbers at their lowest since 1992
when anti-gang legislation was first introduced.
Japan
Today reports that lower-level players in the Yakuza are finding it difficult
to cope with the country’s economic strife with cases of shoplifting and petty
crime by gang members increasing.
“It
appears they’re having trouble paying their bills and making ends meet,” a
police spokesperson said.
In the
case of Japan’s Bikie Gangs, their decline appears to have as much to do with
fashion as it does with the economy.
While
the 148 Bikie groups in the 1980s sported heavily embroidered clothing and rode
modified bikes, the 16 gangs in the Tokyo area today wear normal clothes and
are “closer to a group of friends than a gang” according to a police official.
Police
believe that as Bikie members’ spending money runs out, their interests have
turned to other forms of entertainment like video games and computers.
Which
makes me wonder: while the Yakuza will never disappear from Japan’s social
landscape, as money becomes tighter and the few financial gestures they make to
society at large are removed by the authorities how will they be seen?
And if
Japan’s currently very visual Yakuza – their addresses are formally listed,
like any other registered company – have their image taken away from them, what
will become of the groups and the thousands of businesses, and in some cases
industries, which rely on their presence?
Anna
Watanabe
http://asiancorrespondent.com
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